Sending PDF invoice from QuickBooks Self Employed

Hello there, @TBW1, 

The program is a cloud-based system and we value data security thus it requires your customer to click many links to open the full invoice. This is only happening when using QuickBooks Self-Employed (QBSE) on the phone. 

If you're using QBSE on the browser, the full invoice will automatically pops-up when your customer clicks View Invoice. Please see the screenshot below to serve as your visual guide. 

Please know that I'm listening to your comments about the sub-heading of "QB Self-Employed Welcome Email" when your customer received the invoice email. There's no currently an option to change the sub-heading name.

If you need to mark the invoice as paid even it hasn't been sent from the account, it's currently unavailable. Yes, you're correct in downloading it as a PDF and directly email it to the customer as an alternative.

Since you want a better functionality, you might want to check the features and prices of our online versions through this link: Compare Self-Employed and Online Versions. 

If you find the online version greater benefits, you can watch these instructional videos to help you get started through this link: Getting Started.

This will help improve your experience not to give up QuickBooks, @TBW1. If you need anything else, please drop a comment below. I'm always here to help.

Thanks for your speedy response @RaymondJayO , much appreciated. 

Is there any way for me to get around the issue that an invoice can't be marked as paid if it wasn't sent through QB? Because if so, I can live with downloading the invoice PDF and emailing it separately to my customer.

Alternatively, I could probably live with the customer having to make all the clicks if it weren't for the sub-heading, which you've mentioned is a known issue - do you know if that's something that will be resolved? I imagine the vast majority of my customers check their email on their phone and this really does look unprofessional. 

Thanks for your support - I find the banking/expense functionality brilliant, but the invoicing part is equally important to me and the experience for my customers just isn't what I had hoped for.

Thanks for the quick response, TBW1.

Allow me to step in for a moment and share some additional information about your invoice concern.

As mentioned by my colleague, the option to automatically mark the invoice as paid without sending it via QBSE is currently unavailable. I still suggest downloading the transaction to PDF and manually sending it to your customers.

Right now, we don’t have a defined time frame for when this will be available. Rest assured, I’ll let you know any updates here in the Community.

You can also visit the QuickBooks Blog site to see what’s new and coming about the product. This page covers a wide range of topics that will help your business prosper.

The information I provided should point you in the right direction. Reach out to me if you have additional questions about QBSE. I’m always ready to help.

@TBW1   I too feel the same.  I have just joined QBSE and find that the email my client receives stating that they have received an invoice, looks very unprofessional (I too understand that I am paying the basic fee!).  I am hoping that QBSE realises that the initial impact/look of an email is just as important to our customers as the actual invoice itself.  I really appreciate the ease of the other functions and also like the look of the actual invoice itself  - for me it is literally the initial email and extra 'click' that they have to go through to actually see the invoice itself.  Did you end up sending emails via PDF or have you persevered with the QBSE automatic invoicing?

I've had the same problem with invoicing, I've had clients saying they don't see my bank details and one client refusing to accept QB invoices. This system makes me look like an amateur and if it continues I will have to replace QB with something more professional.

Thanks for joining us here in the Community, @avgandh.

I see the importance that this feature can have on your business. Allow me to provide additional information about how invoices work in QuickBooks and how our developers implement innovations for our product.

Your accounts security is our priority, this is why bank details are not shown on the invoice. Also, we are are sending invoices for record keeping purposes so that your customers will be aware of any transactions.

However, we're committed to developing simple, intuitive software that includes new features based on the feedback we've received from customers like yourself. As we work hand in hand to make the QuickBooks work the way your business needs, I'd encourage you to visit our QuickBooks Self-Employed Blog to be updated with our latest news and enhancements.

Also, I've added here some resources that you can visit about some How do I questions in QuickBooks Online for your future reference:

• QuickBooks Self-Employed
• Help articles

I can see the inconvenience that this has caused you, but your patience while this has been assessed is much appreciated.

In the event that you should have questions about this, or need anything else, you can find me here. Have good one!

Hi, I kindly ask for your advise.

My clients are unable to ‘view Invoice’ when I send out my invoice through Quickbooks Self Employed.

I had no idea that this was happening!! Thankfully one client pointed it out to me....

When one receives an invoice email , one is first required to click: View entire message’ 
That link opens in another window and then one has the option to click :’ view invoice’ However, nothing happens, not in Chrome, not in Safari.  Not on a smartphone and NOT on a desktop PC.

please advise. 
Thank you! 

I appreciate you visiting the Community, Maid in Belgium.

To correct this hitch,  I'd recommend have your client access his/her email account using a private incognito browser or clear the cache and cookies from the browser before reviewing the invoice. This is to verify if this is caused by the system or their browser.

Here are the keyboard shortcuts that will help you accomplish this in all supported browsers:

• Chrome: Ctrl+Shift+N
• Internet Explorer: Ctrl+Shift+P
• Firefox: Ctrl+Shift+
• Safari: Command+Shift+N

I'd also suggest, creating a dummy invoice and send it to your own email address to check if it works.

I'd appreciate if you'd able to update me on how it goes, I'm always here to assist.

I am having the same issue, or rather my client is having the same issue. The onus should not be on the client to figure out a workaround. Is there a way to make my invoices appear as a pdf attachment to an email? I came to QBSE from Tinyinvoice, which sent invoices in this way, so I know it’s possible from a technical standpoint. My client should not have to click through three links to see their invoice, it feels scammy, as if I’m trying to hide the details. Please advise

Thanks for checking in with us, Sheabug.

When sending an invoice to the client's email, they need to click the View Invoice button to see the transaction's details. To appear the invoice as a PDF attachment, we need to manually export them as a PDF file in QuickBooks Self-Employed (QBSE). Then, send them to your clients.

For the detailed steps, please follow the instructions below:

1. Click Invoices on the left menu.
2. Select an invoice that you'll want to send.
3. Hit the Action drop-down and tick Export as PDF.
4. Open the file and download them on your computer.

I've a link here where you can find articles about managing customer's transactions:https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/manage-customers-and-income/misc/02/uk-manage-customers-....

I'm just one click away if you need a hand with running reports or any QBSE related. I'll be here to help.

Hi there,

Is there any progress on this? This a great little app apart from this problem. It is way too unprofessional looking to use the QB email feature. All that is required is a tiny bit of functionality to save the invoice (not as draft) and be able to manually mark when paid. Could you advise when this feature will be added?

cheers

Hello, @timmyjc.

Our Product Engineers are working hard to build the best product out there for small businesses to deliver awesome, personal customer support. As of time, there's no exact time frame on when this will be implemented.

I also think it's a good idea to have the option to send invoice as an attachment. Rest assured, I'll be sending feedback to our Product Development Team based on this interaction. After all, enhancements to QuickBooks functionalities are largely the results of feedback provided by users, such as yourself.

You can also do the same by clicking the Gear icon and choosing Feedback.

Also, stay tuned to our blog for new feature announcements: https://intuit.me/2L2zqTv.

If you have any other ideas for improving the app's receipt capture feature, feel free to send them our way. I'm always here to lend a hand.

Hi

Sorry to jump on this bandwagon, but I have to agree with everyone else here about the need to rethink the invoicing features.

I've just started using QBSE, and am in the process of invoicing a new client. However I'm dreading the prospect of them not being able to view it with ease and requesting a different invoicing method, this would look very unprofessional.

Furthermore in my line of work people seem to prefer invoices sent as an attachment. For now this is what I'll have to do, which is unfortunate as being able to track invoices is a great feature. 

Being able to send invoices as an attachment and still track them on QB isn't exactly a premium feature, so please consider implementing this, as I'm clearly not the only one.

On the whole though QBSE seems really good, this is just some constructive criticism.

Thanks,

Rise_Fitness

Hi,

I have the same problem. Every recipient of my invoices so far had some negative comments or complaints. My clients base is gradually growing to include more reputable companies and it is getting increasingly embarrassing to invoice them.

Please let me know if you are working on resolving this issue and a time frame?

I need to act quickly because if you are not planing to provide a solution  soon I will have to look elsewhere.

Thanks.

Hello, @uros.

I understand the importance of being able to make invoices appear as a PDF attachment when sending them to customers. This option is currently unavailable, however, you can temporarily follow the steps provided by RCV above to o manually export the invoices as a PDF file in QuickBooks Self-Employed (QBSE) before sending them to your clients.

I also encourage visiting our blog to stay current with the latest QuickBooks news and updates.

Let me know if you have any other questions. I'm a few clicks away to help. Have a good day!

I'm having similar issues with the QB Self Employed module online. It appears that most of these issues have been resolved in some manner. I'd like the opportunity to attach a PDF to the invoice which then can be emailed with the link via quickbooks. There are a million little companies offering payroll, invoicing, and management via a online platform. In my line of work it's very inconvenient to use the QB invoicing platform to describe the amount of work and what was done in the services/hourly slot. Additionally, quantity take offs and plansets are used frequently in construction and consulting world and sometimes these are needed or materials pdfs are required as attachments to back up the work/service performed and materials purchased. Other free programs are offering the attachment option for their platforms and I would agree with the previous statement that it seems a little Scammy to have such a minimal option for our customers to review. This method isn't ideal for the small business who wants to provide detailed information to their clients while tracking their finances through a product like quickbooks. Please add a "attachment" option for further detail and professional looking product. 

Hello Idsconsults, 

Thanks for commenting on this thread, 

We appreciate your feedback and we will pass this on to our development team for you. 

It may be a feature that will come out in Quickbooks in the future. 

I'm just looking into whether to start using qb, and I'm affraid the issues mentioned in this thread are completely putting me off. Surely it's not that hard just to send a PDF invoice directly from the app?

I completely agree with you! Don't buy this version. I'm a translator and I serve big clients (Honda, Mercedes-Benz, Suzuki, Subaru, Kia, Hyundai, etc.). Good thing my clients are loyal to me as this QBSE method of invoicing turns out to be less professional than my rudimentary method, it's laughable!

GET THIS FIXED, QuickBooks! You give a bad name to the self-employed and you're not getting good reviews from us. QuickBooks, do take care of this now! 

Why has this not been sorted out yet?? Such a simple feature to add which would cut out alot of hassle. Many companies use automated accounting software that only accept invoices in PDF format so paying £9.99 a month for something that cant produce invoices for half your clients is ridiculous. Nearly 2 years since this original post and no progress

I'm new to quickbooks and I have to say that the lack of professional invoicing features has put me right off.  Even free accounting solutions offer better invoicing.

The email that is sent is the main problem.  Lacks company branding, has a quickbooks logo on it and quickbooks copyright.  I have to re-type the email message body each time to include payment info and the customer has to click thorough too many times just to see a PDF.

The other accounting solutions I've tried all have issues, but none so basic as this.  Would be nice to see this sorted out and modernised as I really don't want to use such an unprofessional looking invoice system.

Hello Ralphonz, 

Thanks for commenting on this thread, 

We have taken all your feedback on board and will pass it onto the develops for you. 

I wish you would, 50% at least of my customers never see the invoice and contact me to ask where it is.  Need to explore other systems

You know what, I' just cancelled my subscription.  Just didn't like having the quickbooks logo on there considering I'd be paying almost £100/year for this, just didn't seem worth it.  That and a few other things like not being able to put income in different categories (everything just gets lumped as "Business Income").  I'd have left this in the survey when I canceled only it didn't load.

Sorry guys, if quickbooks just offered one or two more little things (invoice email customisation being the main thing) then you'd have kept me!